Hello Everyone:
Flossie, welcome to the forum! In case you don’t know me, I am one of the gem professionals behind Rocks & Co.
Regarding Tanzanite care, I pretty much echo everything that’s been said, but would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the information resources we provide in our online ‘Rocks Library’
http://www.rocksandco.com/library/anniversaries.asp.
While one of the defining attributes of gemstones is durability, exercising a little bit of common sense and following a few simple do’s and don’ts will make sure your gemstones last for generations
http://www.rocksandco.com/library/gemstone-enhancement.asp. Here’s a safety checklist for Tanzanite:
- Always remove your Tanzanite jewellery when engaging in activities that risk impact or exposure to chemicals or heat such as sports or housework. Note, I recommend this for all gemstone jewellery.
- Never clean Tanzanite jewellery with steam or ultrasonic cleaners. Instead, clean with gentle soap and lukewarm water, scrubbing behind the gem with a very soft toothbrush as necessary. After cleaning, pat dry with a soft towel or chamois cloth.
- As Tanzanite can be damaged by thermal shock, do not expose it to extreme temperature changes.
- When having Tanzanite jewellery cleaned, reset or resized by a jeweller, make sure they’re experienced working with the gem. Again, this is good advice for any gemstone.
Mad4Gems, I think you might find what I have to say about Tanzanite rarity in my latest book interesting. You can read a webpage version here
http://www.rocksandco.com/book2/book-s2-22.asp?page=s2-22. Flossie, there is also some great info here on how to assess quality and value in Tanzanite.
No matter what I’m buying, if it is a significant value, I always comparison shop. To help you make sure you’re comparing ‘apples to apples’, all you need is the Rocks & Co. item number to access all the details of a piece of jewellery via our ‘Historic Product Search’
http://www.rocksandco.com/service/search.aspx. A related function is our eCertificate
http://www.rocksandco.com/service/ecertificate.aspx, which allows you to print an Authenticity Certificate for any Rocks & Co. jewellery.
Lastly, Flossie we have a ‘Tanzanite Hour’ this weekend at 7pm Sunday you might want to watch.
I hope this helps and as always, please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Kind Regards,
Gav